Nuggets Vs Thunder: Nikola Jokić angrily confronts Lu Dort in nuggets vs thunder
In Friday’s nuggets vs thunder clash in Oklahoma City, Nikola Jokić angrily confronted Thunder guard Lu Dort after Dort appeared to trip the three-time MVP late in the fourth quarter. The sequence led to a Flagrant 2 ejection for Dort and offsetting technical fouls for Jokić and Jaylin Williams.
Nuggets Vs Thunder scuffle
The skirmish began in the fourth quarter when, as Nikola Jokić was jogging up the floor after Oklahoma City scored, Lu Dort stuck out his right leg and tripped him. A common foul was called initially. Jokić got back to his feet and immediately put his chest into Dort, prompting Oklahoma City center Jaylin Williams to come to Dort’s defense and exchange shoves with Jokić at midcourt. It took a while, but the two were eventually pried loose from each other.
How the play was reviewed
Officials reviewed the footage and upgraded Dort’s foul to a flagrant two, resulting in an automatic ejection. Jokić and Williams received matching technical fouls and were allowed to remain in the game. Officials determined Jokić didn’t throw a punch when he took a swipe at Williams with his left hand; the NBA rulebook states a punch is automatically punished by an ejection and suspension of at least one game.
Officials' explanation and quotes
“Lu Dort was assessed a flagrant foul penalty (level) two because we deemed his contact on Jokic to be unnecessary and excessive with a high potential for injury, ” crew chief James Williams said. “And also because the contact led to an altercation that did not dissolve. ”
“When we reviewed that play, we did not see any actions by either player that would have risen to the level of an ejection, ” James Williams added, “which is why both players received unsportsmanlike technicals fouls that were offset. ”
Player reactions and remarks
Jokić was blunt about the sequence: “Unnecessary move and a necessary reaction, ” the Nuggets center said. “There is no such thing — I think there’s not supposed to be those things on a basketball floor. So it was just an unnecessary move (by Dort) and a necessary reaction by me. ” He also said he was confident he wouldn’t be ejected because “I didn’t do nothing, ” and declined to expand on the clash with Williams, saying “it’s not worth it. ”
Nuggets forward Cam Johnson said, “I didn’t see it because my back was turned at the time. But obviously, it was a cheap shot enough for (Dort) to be thrown out, so they took care of it. ”
Thunder coach Mark Daigneault called the game “chippy” and noted the teams’ history: “These are two teams that played each other in a seven-game series. We’re in the same division. We’ve played each other 100 times. They know our playbook. We know their playbook. ” He added that he didn’t think anyone intended to hurt anyone and that it “just boiled over. ” Daigneault also said, “If a player (for us), if J-Will is running up the floor and gets tripped, we expect a flagrant two from this point forward. ” When asked if he was suggesting Dort was ejected because a three-time NBA MVP was the victim, Daigneault said, “I’m not going to answer the question like that. I said what I needed to say about it. ”
Nuggets coach David Adelman said in his postgame news conference that he still needed to rewatch the incident, which unclear in the provided context.
Game finish and standings impact
The altercation occurred during a back-and-forth thriller that went to overtime after Jokić tied the game with 38 seconds left in regulation. The five-minute extra period was one-sided in favor of the Thunder, who shut down the Nuggets for a 127-121 overtime win.
Jokić finished with 23 points on 9-of-25 shooting, 17 rebounds and 14 assists. Jamal Murray led the Nuggets with 39 points, and only two other Nuggets scored more than seven points. For Oklahoma City, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander returned from an abdominal strain and led the Thunder with 36 points and 9 assists in 34 minutes; he missed all of overtime due to a minutes restriction. Chet Holmgren finished with 15 points, 21 rebounds and 3 blocks. OKC depth — including contributions from Jaylin Williams, Alex Caruso and Jared McCain — was decisive in the comeback after Denver led by as many as 16 points in the first quarter.
The win keeps the Thunder at 46-15, two games ahead of the San Antonio Spurs for the best record in the West, while the Nuggets are tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves for fourth place at 37-23.
Further replay of the confrontation showed an intense side of Jokić that drew strong reaction, and the incident figures to be discussed further as both teams move forward in the season.
